Softball Yukon will be holding their annual pre-season meet and greet April 11 at the Westmark and the organization's vice-president Bud Arnold said they are ready to get the season started.

"Everything is coming together,” he told the Star this morning.

The league will be interrupted for a two-week period from July 2 to 14 for the women's world fastball championships.

The season is expected to finish at its regular closing date of mid-August.

"The league is shut down totally for world championships,” he said. "We're losing two weeks there, we shut the complex down and shut all the ballparks down, but it gives all our members the opportunity to volunteer and watch some fast-pitch.”

Arnold said the registration fees could be reduced by ten dollars from $90 to $80 per player if the league is unable to fill its currently vacant umpire positions.

The organization will be putting the word out over the coming weeks to try and recruit some officials into the league.

Arnold said they currently have four umpires on-hand with the ideal range falling between 10-12.

If the league is unable to fill the positions, teams will be required to officiate their own games when they are not playing at the Pepsi Softball Centre (PSC), a scenario that has occurred in the past.

"Usually it works out fine,” Arnold said of the self-officiated games.

"The top two levels are very competitive and that can be a bit tough, but usually it's fine.”

The league will be able to umpire the games that occur at the PSC but will require team umpires for the games that occure elsewhere.

Arnold said the organization is hoping to have 36 teams registered in the league.

Another scheduling change this season is the Dustball tournament, which will be happening a month earlier on June 14 to 17.

The tournament is open to 72 teams, with 24 men's teams, 12 women's teams and 36 co-ed teams.

Arnold said the change in date may result in less teams signing up.

"We're thinking we might only get 50 or 60 teams due to the change of dates but I guess Alaska changed one of their big tournaments to accommodate us so we might get the full 70,” he said.

The league will be hosting an umpire clinic from April 20 to 21, after which they will know their final numbers.

"We've seen the officials in all the sports are declining somewhat and I'm not sure the reason why,” said Arnold who officiates local hockey in addition to softball.

"We've increased fees to see if we could get more people out but that didn't do it.”

The season is tentatively scheduled to begin on May 7 depending on the weather.

"We'll be out there if the fields are ready,” said Arnold

"Last year we had to put it off by one week because it was a really late thaw and the fields we're still pretty muddy in that first week.

"We're excited to get started.”